Monday, June 8, 2009

I would be a terrible person if I did not expose as many people as possible to this amazing video. The idea behind Literal Videos is what would videos be like if the lyrics matched what was actually happening in the video. Not only do I love, love, LOVE Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart, but the video is hilarious. It is one of those epic, this-doesn't-really-make-any-sense-to-me-at-all video concepts. (I'm calling you out Meatloaf and Celine Dion and your running around in the pseudo-castle with way too many candles video movies.)

Friday, June 5, 2009

Okay, I will admit that I am a total slacker when it comes to posting on the ol’ blog. I promise you, however, that the wait will be worth it as I have some incredible moments coming up from the months of April ‘till June. I even have some student generated illustrations and some comics that are absolutely amazing. Enjoy!

English IMoment 1:The freshmen had just finished reading A Separate Peace by John Knowles, and they were completing a little end of the unit art project where they draw what they think would make a good book cover for the novel. As part of the assignment, they had to put the title and author’s name on their drawing.

Student 1: “What’s the author’s name again?”Havig: “John Knowles.” (Writing it up on the board.)Student 2: “Ooh, is he related to Beyonce?”Havig (with back still turned to the class): “Yes.”Student 3: “Really?!”Havig: “No.”

Moment 2:A student in 5th period was talking about the neighborhood that her dad lives in which is apparently not the greatest neighborhood.Student: “With all the crackers everywhere…”Havig: “Did you really just call people crackers?”Student: “Did I? Crackheads. That’s what I meant, crackheads.”

Later in the same conversation, I after I explained that I don’t live in nicest of neighborhoods either…Student 1: “So do you seem normal in your neighborhood? Like everyone is so weird, you must seem normal.”Student 2: “ish.”Havig: “Thanks for that.”

Moment 3:We were just starting a new assignment.Student 1: “Is this going to be fun?”Havig: “I think so.”Student 2: “That means it won’t be.”

Moment 5: A student was telling another story about her family’s odd happenings. Keep in mind that she has a particularly interesting family set up.Havig: “Wait, your ex-stepmother’s fiancé?”Student: “Yep.”Havig: “Just checking. Please continue with your story.”

Moment 6:Student 1 was talking about a foreign film she had seen. Student 1: “It’s not a chick-flick, but it’s a romance.”Student 2: “If it’s a romance, it IS a chick-flick.”Havig: “Not necessarily. You can have romance without being all, Where the Heart is.”Student 3: “Like James Bond.”Havig: “Exactly!”

Moment 7:The students had just started reading Julius Caesar, and we were talking about the character Cassius. One student thought Cassius was a woman for the first part of Act I. A second student pointed out how Cassius butters up Brutus to join the conspiracy by complimenting him and such.Student 2: “Guys don’t do that. That’s a total girl thing to do.”

Moment 8:The Julius Caesar portion of the Shakespeare unit happened to occur over mid April.Student to Havig: “Beware the Ides of April.”Havig: “Wait, isn’t that today!?”Later in the same period after the student’s proclamation, another student leaned back against the bar that attaches the chair of her desk to the desk top and broke it clean off. Spooky.

Stay tuned for vocab quiz drawings. I've got some great ones to share.

The Havig

Me in non-teacher attire

English Class Moments of Awesomeness

The idea for this blog originated a few years ago while I was sharing funny things that my students said and did in class with my friends. My students crack me up all the time, and I enjoy sharing their hilarity with others. Originally, I posted ECMOA on my MySpace page, but the audience was limited. In an effort to expand and try out some different technology, I decided to start an official ECMOA blog. I hope you enjoy it.

Currently, I'm ...

watching the 5th season of The Office. Amazing!

watching the first season of Parks and Rec. Also amazing!

STILL boycotting the 7th Harry Potter book because I think it's stupid that J.K. is simply killing off a bunch of characters. Like I tell my Creative Writing students, blowing everything up (or killing everyone off) is NOT resolution. What did the owl ever do to you J.K Rowling?!

so annoyed with Rowling's crappy 7th book that I even refused to watch the 6th movie.

really enjoying my classes. My students are pretty fantastic so far. Definitely some great material for the ol' blog.

About Hav

I'm an English teacher at a public high school, a gig that I've been doing for around 7! years now. I currently also teach our school's Leadership class. I'm an avid writer, but I don't seem to have enough time to read "for fun" books, as I like to call them. The grading seems to get in the way of such joyous endeavors. I also coach our school’s Knowledge Bowl team if any of you are doubting my extreme nerdiness. Also, if any of you are curious, the Hav part of my name rhymes with mob (as in the angry, torch carrying kind), or like you’re laughing, Ha Ha Havig.